You were there
by Writingiswhatiam
Summary: When Craig breaks Ashleys heart, Jimmy is there to pick up the pieces. but will Ashley hurt him again, as Craig tries to win Ashely back?
1. Default Chapter

From Ashley's Point of View Right after Ashley walks away from Craig at the end of Holiday.  
  
I walked as quickly as I could away from Craig. I loved him, I needed him, how could he do this to me? I should have known better. Tears blurred my vision, my head spun and I felt like I would collapse. My heart was shattering. I couldn't see where I was going any more, and I bumped into somebody. Not Craig, any one but Craig, I thought.  
  
"Ash, are you okay?" I heard Jimmy say. He put his arms on my elbows to steady me. "why did you slap Craig?"  
  
"He was sleeping with Manny," I replied, trying to stop crying.  
  
"Oh, Ash, I'm so sorry," he said, putting his arms around me.  
  
"How could he do this to me? I thought he had a thing for Manny, but he could've at least broke up with me first."  
  
"I know, it's cold. Anything I can do to help?" he asked.  
  
"Can you take me home?" I asked. "I can hardly see through the tears."  
  
"Yeah no problem, lets go," he put his hand on my shoulder and walked me home.  
  
"Thanks, Jimmy," I said. "I really appreciate this."  
  
"Do you want me to stay until your parents get home?"  
  
"No, that's okay but thank you."  
  
"I'll call you to see how you're doing in the morning okay?"  
  
"Yeah thanks," I said, walking inside.  
  
The next morning, I woke up feeling a little better. It didn't hurt anymore, it just made me mad. I wanted to scratch his eyes out.  
  
I was getting dressed when Jimmy called, telling me to get ready because he had a surprise for me.  
  
I waited patiently for Jimmy to get to my house, wondering what the heck he could have in store for me.  
  
"Close your eyes," he said as we finished our walk.  
  
I closed them, he guided me for about a minute, I actually laughed. When I opened my eyes, we were in the most AWESOME vintage store ever.  
  
"Buy anything you want, my treat," he said.  
  
"Jimmy, I cant."  
  
"I want you to, please?"  
  
"Okay," I laughed again.  
  
"Do you want to go hang out at The Dot?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"I'd love to," I told him. He was being really sweet to me, I couldn't thank him enough.  
  
We went to The Dot and ordered two French Vanilla cappuccinos and sat down at a table.  
  
"Are you having fun?" he asked me.  
  
"Yeah, I'm having a great time. Thanks, Jimmy," I said, smiling at him. Don't fall for him Ash, this is just rebound. Don't do it.  
  
"No problem. Anything for my number 1 girl."  
  
"I still have that title after everything I've done to you?" I asked, half-joking.  
  
"Of course," he said.  
  
We both laughed.  
  
I took a sip of the cappuccino and help the paper cup in my hands to warm them. I frowned as my eyes fell on the door. Craig had just walked in. Jimmy followed my eyes.  
  
"Jimmy, I can't talk to him. What if he tries to talk to me?"  
  
"If he does, I'll take care of it alright? Don't worry about it."  
  
I looked down at the cup I was holding, then back up at Craig, who was headed my way.  
  
"Jimmy.he's." My words were cut short as Craig came to the table.  
  
"Ash, can we talk?" He said.  
  
"Craig, I don't want to hear what you have to say," I said shortly.  
  
"Ashley, please, don't do this. I love you."  
  
"Yeah me and who else?" I muttered.  
  
He put his hand on my arm, "Ash."  
  
Jimmy jumped up, grabbed Craig's arm and spun him around to face him. "She doesn't want to talk, okay man? Just leave her alone."  
  
"Fine, whatever." Craig jerked away and left.  
  
"Jimmy..that was really sweet of you," I said.  
  
"Don't mention it. Do you want to go home?"  
  
"I think I should," I said.  
  
"Okay, come on, I'll walk you there." He grabbed my hand and led me out the door.  
  
"thank you so much, you've done so much for me."  
  
"Its really not a problem. You're too good to be hurt like that, by anybody."  
  
I sat on my bed with my notebook of songs in my hand. I wrote: You said you loved me, Yet you went to her arms. It didn't take long For me to catch on. Now your out of my life For good. And you're going to pay. I'll make sure you pay. 


	2. Old love, new trials

The next week was a blur, I tried to move on but when I did Craig turned up. It's like he was always there, always following me. I know that's crazy, but that's what I felt like.  
  
"Jimmy," I said. "I want to make him hurt, I want him to be jealous. I want him to feel like I felt."  
  
Jimmy and I were sitting in his living room floor. His parents weren't there, like always. We had a bowl of popcorn sitting between us as we talked.  
  
"Date me. He'd be crushed to see that you moved on so quickly," he said.  
  
"That's a really good idea," I said. "Jimmy, you're a genius."  
  
"I'm having a party tomorrow night; do you want me to invite him?"  
  
"Sure, am I invited?" I added innocently.  
  
"of course," he joked back.  
  
The night of the party, I wanted to look my best, which was weird because I usually didn't care. When I went shopping with Jimmy, I had bought an awesome black shirt and a pair of jeans with chains on them, which I was wearing tonight. I have to admit, I looked awesome. You have to do this, Ash. Get yourself together and pretend that you don't want him.that you don't miss him.  
  
I arrived at Jimmy's house to help him set up. Other than me, Craig was the first one there.  
  
"Ashley, I didn't know you would be here," Craig said.  
  
"Why wouldn't I help my boyfriend set up with his party?" I asked.  
  
He looked like he'd been slapped, "oh-you two are dating?" he stammered.  
  
"Yeah, Jimmy's a great guy. I never should have let him go," I said. I meant it.  
  
"I-I should go." Craig said.  
  
"Naw, stay for the party," Jimmy said.  
  
"I'll be back, I just.forgot somebody."  
  
Craig left and I started to feel bad.not for Craig, but for Jimmy. I shouldn't be stringing him along like this.  
  
"Jimmy," I said. He turned around, and I grabbed him, wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.  
  
"Whoa, what was that for?" he said, surprised and smiling.  
  
"For being there for me, and for being such a great person. You've really, helped me get over Craig."  
  
He looked into my eyes. There was a connection there, and we stood there, just gazing at each other for what seemed to be hours, but was probably only a minute or two. I seemed to get lost in his caring, deep brown eyes. We leaned in closer.closer.closer..the doorbell rang and interrupted us.  
  
"I should go get that." Jimmy said.  
  
"Yeah," I replied weakly. He had taken my breath away; he'd always been able to do that.  
  
An hour later, the party was really awesome, a lot of people showed up, but they always do for Jimmy's parties. I was having such a great time that I hardly even noticed when Craig walked in with Manny on his arm.hardly noticed.  
  
"So, Jimmy, are you and Ash like officially a couple now?" Spinner asked.  
  
"I guess, she wants to make Craig jealous and hurt, so I'm helping her do that," Jimmy said, sighing.  
  
"I bet that makes you look good," Spinner continued.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jimmy questioned.  
  
"I just mean that its obvious that you still have a thing for Ashley."  
  
"Yeah, but she doesn't feel the same way."  
  
After the party, I helped Jimmy clean up.  
  
"Your scheme worked," Jimmy said flatly.  
  
"What's that mean?" I asked.  
  
"Nothing, just.he was totally jealous."  
  
"Yeah.I really don't care though," I said truthfully.  
  
"Yeah, right."  
  
"Jimmy, are you mad at me?" I asked.  
  
"No.I just, forget it. Its not important."  
  
"It's important to me."  
  
"I just hope you don't go back to him."  
  
"I won't." I said. "I only want..you, just you."  
  
He looked up at me and our eyes met. I kissed him, and he pulled me in closer. We got carried away..a lot. 


	3. Help from an unlikely friend

I do not own any of the Degrassi characters I hope you like this chapter. I know some of you are saying that Jimmy wouldn't act the way he did at The Dot, but I think you misunderstood. He wasn't being violent; he was calmly telling Craig to stay away from Ash. Please R+R  
The next day, I ran into Manny. She was dressed as a tramp as always, and was eyeing Craig, once again. Did this girl ever learn a lesson?  
"Ashley, I am so sorry about what happened with Craig." she started to say.  
"I know, its not your fault.you just couldn't say no him, I understand that all too well," I said, feeling a strike of pain as I remembered how I felt the night I found out about Craig and Manny. "How are you doing anyway?"  
"Not so good," Manny said, looking away. "I hate to say this, but can we talk. I know it will be hard for you, but I don't have anyone else to turn to."  
"Yeah, sure, do you want to go to the library?" I asked.  
"Yeah," she said. We walked to the school library in silence and sat down at a table in the back of the room.  
"So, what's wrong?" I asked her.  
"It's just that.I think I might be pregnant.and I don't know how to tell Craig," she blurted out.  
Despite how I felt about Jimmy, I still had feelings for Craig, so her words hit my heart like a gunshot. "Craig can be a jerk, but he's a good guy. And he deserves to know, so don't make any decisions without him, okay?"  
"Yeah."  
I sat in my room, thinking about Jimmy and about Craig. I knew I could easily have Craig back if I wanted. But I also know that Jimmy really cares about me and I cant do that to him. I love Jimmy I always have and always will. I just wish things weren't so complicated. I didn't know what to do so I picked up the phone and called Ellie and asked her to come over.  
"I don't know what to do, Ellie. I really like Jimmy, but I feel like I can't get over Craig and no matter what I do, I will always be jealous when I see him and Manny," I told Ellie, as we sat on my bed.  
"You should be honest with them, you can't string Jimmy along, it wouldn't be fair," Ellie said.  
"I know, but I don't want to hurt him. He's so much better for me than Craig."  
"Honestly, I think Jimmy is better for you too, but that's your choice."  
"Listen to me, going on and on about me. How are you doing? I mean with Marco being.well are you holding up okay?"  
"Of course, I'm fine. I mean it's not like I was madly in love with him or anything," she said the words, but I could see in her eyes that she was lying.  
"Ellie," I said, looking her straight in the eyes as if to say, 'don't lie to me'.  
"Honestly? I'm a wreck. My mom's not doing so well either, and Marco left me when I needed him the most. He doesn't even listen to me anymore, and he used to be my best friend," she said, almost breaking down. But breaking down wasn't like Ellie; she would hold things in till the last possible second if I would let her.  
"Ellie.I'm so sorry," I said, feeling really bad for her.  
"It's okay, I don't want your pity, I just want to relax, and I haven't been able to relax since my dad left."  
"For what it's worth, I'm here for you," I said.  
"Thanks, Ash," she said to me.  
  
I was over at Jimmy's house, because he was lonely and needed company. He had ordered a pizza and rented a movie, which we sat on his bed watching.  
I smiled as I watched him, why did I ever let him go? "Jimmy," I said.  
He looked at me, his gaze meeting mine, "Yeah?"  
I kissed him, wrapping my arms around his neck. When I pulled back, Jimmy smiled at me weakly.  
"Jimmy, I love you," I said breathlessly.  
"Ash, I love you. I have always loved you, and I always will," he kissed me again. He put one of his hands on the back of my neck, and the other one around my waist.  
I started to say something, but I stopped myself. I had almost called him Craig! "Jimmy, I.I cant. I have to go, this isn't a good idea," I got up and walked to the door.  
"Ash, I wasn't going to try anything, I'm not Craig, okay?"  
"I know, but still.I promised Ellie I would come over tonight. So I have to go," I said.  
I left, hanging my head down and feeling terrible. Get yourself together, Ash, you love Jimmy, not Craig. Right? 


	4. I love You, Ash

Thank you to Sandra (SAUN-DRA) for writing this chapter for me. I will be finishing this, and many other of my stories, up soon.

I was sitting on Ellie's bed, desperately trying to think of a poem or new song. She was at her desk, doing something, but I wasn't paying attention. Just thinking of Jimmy and Craig. But then, I realized I was thinking more about Jimmy than Craig. My head said, "Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy...." and then just a whisper said, "Craig, Craig, Craig..." No, I definitely didn't have feelings for Craig anymore. I had this urge inside me to confide in someone. And that someone, luckily, was right by my side.  
  
"Ellie, I have to tell you something."  
  
She turned her chair around.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Well, you know how I was "faking" going out with Jimmy to make Craig jealous?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I don't want to anymore. I think I like Jimmy so much that, well, I don't want to fake anymore. You can't fake love."  
  
"I guess not."  
  
"So what do you think I should do?"  
  
"Tell him of course! You can't just tell me and say to yourself it's all set. It isn't. Just go talk to him."  
  
"Yeah. He'll understand. But it's strange. It's like back in 8th grade, when we were always together and a perfect couple."  
  
Ellie smiled. "Yeah."  
  
I could tell she missed Marco a lot.  
  
"You know what YOU should do?" I told her.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You need to go and talk to Marco. Hang out a bit more. Tell him some personal things, and he'll feel more comfortable like when you guys were stuck like glue."  
  
She smiled, but she was forcing it.  
  
"I don't know. He's so into Dylan and everything. I just don't want to ruin it for him."  
  
"You won't. He's one of your best friends. Trust me."  
  
The day after I was at Ellie's, after school, I was rummaging through my book bag to find a lip gloss I kept store in there.  
  
I decided it would be easier to dump everything on my bed, and so I did. But then I found something else. It was a folded piece of lined paper. I opened it. It was a letter from Craig. It said:  
  
Dear Ashley,  
  
I know what I did was wrong, and I feel horrible for it. You may not believe me, and you might despise me, but it's okay if you do or don't. I guess there isn't a chance between us, so I'm just writing this to say I'm sorry, but this time I really mean it.  
  
-Craig  
  
I felt a tear escape my eye. I knew it for sure, there was no space in my heart for Craig, but I yearned to talk to him one more time. His letter touched me. I felt as if this time, it was a true sorry. I looked out the window. It was raining. But I didn't care. I put on a jacket and slipped on my sneakers. Mom looked in the hallway from the kitchen. "Ashley, sweetie, where are you going? It's pouring!" Toby was at the table. "Just let her go," he said, not looking up from his game boy.   
  
I ran outside, and headed toward Jimmy's house. I ran and ran, and even when I knew I was tired I kept running. By the time I got  
  
there I was soaked, but I walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. Jimmy answered the door slowly. He looked shocked to see me there. I threw myself toward him.  
  
"Jimmy, I really do love you. There's nothing else I want to do than be with you. I don't want to pretend anymore. This is real. I can feel it." We stood there for a moment.  
  
And then,  
  
We kissed 


End file.
